Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | August 17, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 13 Please, join us in the fight. START YOUR TEAM! BECOME A SPONSOR! www.umasscancerwalk.org Your place, your pace! Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 VIRTUAL 2020 DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE AFFECTED BY CANCER? Then this event is for you (and them). The academic partner of UMass Memorial Health Care Presenting Sponsors Champion Sponsors PPP loan receipients, by race In the Paycheck Protection program, only 11% of Central Massachusetts recipients and 10% of Massachusetts recipients identified their race, but of those who did, the over- whelming majority of loans went to white-owned businesses. % of Central Number of Mass. who Number % of Mass. Central Mass. identified of Mass. who identified Race/ethnicity recipients their race recipients their race Note: Black category includes "Black or African American," and Native includes "American Indian or Alaskan Native." Source: U.S. Small Business Administration Total Central Massachusetts loans: White 1,642 83.82% 9,166 84.89% Asian 157 8.01% 769 7.12% Hispanic 113 5.77% 596 5.52% Black 35 1.79% 210 1.94% Native 12 0.61% 56 0.52% Unanswered 15,907 102,198 PPP loan sizes, by race Paycheck Protection Program loan recipients who identified as businesses owned by a person of color were more likely to get a small loan from the program. % of Central Number of Mass. who Number % of Mass. Central Mass. identified of Mass. who identified Race/ethnicity recipients their race recipients their race Loans under $150,000: White 1,252 81.30% 6,732 82.86% Asian 144 9.35% 674 8.30% Hispanic 101 6.56% 515 6.34% Black 33 2.14% 162 1.99% Native 10 0.65% 42 0.52% Unanswered 13,734 86,619 % of Central Number of Mass. who Number % of Mass. Central Mass. identified of Mass. who identified Race/ethnicity recipients their race recipients their race Loans over $150,000: White 390 93.08% 2,434 91.09% Asian 13 3.10% 95 3.56% Hispanic 12 2.86% 81 3.03% Black 2 0.48% 48 1.80% Native 2 0.48% 14 0.52% Unanswered 2,173 15,579 Continued on Page 14 times more likely to identify as white- owned than Black-owned. National studies have supported the argument Black businesses didn't get a fair shake at PPP funds. "By distributing PPP funds through el- igible SBA-approved lenders, banks and credit unions, the program ensures that businesses of color that have historically lacked access to credit are likely to face barriers in accessing critical PPP loans," the Center for Responsible Lending, a North Carolina-based advocacy group, said at the outset of the program. In the past five years, white-owned businesses were twice as likely to access credit from a bank, the center said. e PPP's fee structure heavily discouraged lending to smaller businesses or the self-employed, which are more likely to be minority-owned, it said. Another group, the National Commu- nity Reinvestment Coalition, conducted a study to see how business owners of different colors would fare. e nonprof- it had testers with names and voices it found to be easily identifiable with a race contact 32 bank branches in its home city of Washington, D.C. eir financial profiles, including credit histories strong enough to qualify for a loan, otherwise matched. Black testers were treated differently, the coalition said. In 43% of the cases, the white would-be applicants were treated more favorably, including being encouraged to apply for a loan. In some cases, Black Local Business News Reliable news to your inbox every weekday. SIGN UP HERE >> Worcester Business Journal WBJ wbjournal.com/enewsletters

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